"Whom have you got there, le Clus?" enquired one of them with a white cockade in his hat.
"He says that he is a British officer, mynheer. He was coming along the road when he tumbled over our wire, and we had him in a moment."
"He was walking along the road, was he?"
"Yes."
"Then he hardly can have been sent to spy out our position and strength," the man said. "If he had been, he would not have kept to the road. Why, he is quite a boy!"
"He says he is not a spy, mynheer, but has been sent out to carry a message to the British on the Modder. He claims to be in uniform, and so to be treated as a prisoner of war."
[Pg 171]
supper
A STRONG PARTY OF BOERS WERE SITTING ROUND. SOME SMOKING, OTHERS EATING THEIR SUPPER.
The conversation had been in Dutch, and the field cornet then said in English to the prisoner, "Have you any papers about you?"
"I have only this little scrap," Yorke said. "It is written in a cipher, and I suppose the English general will understand. It is only a lot of figures."
The Boer opened it and held it so that the light of the fires would fall upon it. "3104, 8660, 241. It is like that all the way down. Do you understand the cipher?" he asked.
"As it is a military cipher, it is only the generals who would know it. These things are kept very secret, and no cipher would be told to a young officer like myself."
"Why should they choose you to carry it?"
"I can only suppose," Yorke said with a smile, "because they thought that I could be better spared than older officers. Besides, I am a good runner, and would bet that if I had twenty yards start none of your men would overtake me."
"Perhaps not, my lad, but a rifle bullet would travel faster than you."
There was a laugh among the Boers standing round, which was what Yorke had aimed at, knowing the importance of keeping them in good temper.
"Well, in the morning I shall send you on to Boshof," the field cornet said. "I do not know anything of the usages of war, and whether your uniform will save your skin or not; I will leave it to others to settle. But you must be a bold young fellow to have undertaken such a job, for it is ridiculous to suppose that you could get through in that uniform, and you would probably be shot by the first of our men you met without his stopping to ask any questions. Will you give me your word that you will not try to escape to-night? If so, I will not tie you up."
Two or three of the men grumbled. "I know these English officers," he said, "and am willing to take his word. Still, to prevent any risks, two of you must take it by turns to watch him."
[Pg 172]
Yorke looked indifferent till he spoke to him in English, and then said, "I will give you my word of honour, sir, not to attempt to escape to-night, but I don't say that if I can get a chance afterwards I won't do so."
"That is all right. I don't think you will get a chance. At any rate, I accept your word that you will remain here quietly all night."
So saying, he reseated himself by the fire and began to puff at his pipe. Yorke thought it would be best to imitate his example. He had, when at the farm, taken to smoking occasionally; he did it in self-defence, for sometimes, when there were several Dutch visitors, the room was so full of smoke that he could scarcely breathe in it. He therefore took out his pipe, filled and lit it, and sat quietly down near the field cornet. He then took from his pocket a flask, which had been filled for him at the mess with whiskey, and handed it to the cornet. The Boer's eyes twinkled, and he took a long draught of it.
"That is good stuff," he said, "a good deal better than they sell us at your stores."
"Please pass it round, cornet. I am afraid it won't go very far, but you are heartily welcome to it. I don't drink it myself, but I generally carry it in case I should get hurt anyhow, or sprain my ankle among your rocks. I may as well hand you this pistol too," Yorke said—it had been unnoticed in the dark by the men who had taken his rifle—"it is certain that your people will not let me keep it, and you may as well have it as another; but I do not suppose your cartridges will fit it." He had dropped his own on the way.
"As you say, I may as well have it as another," the field cornet said taking it. "Besides, it might go off by the way, and it is well to avoid the possibility of accidents. Now, as you have given me your word of honour that you will not try to escape to-night, will you assure me, on your word of[Pg 173] honour, that you have not come out to gather information—in fact, that you are not a spy?"
"Willingly, sir. I give you my word of honour that I am not sent out on any such mission. I was simply told to make my way to the Modder, and, so far from trying to make out your arrangements, my great object was to try to avoid coming near any of you."
"What he says is true, I am certain," the Boer said in Dutch to his companions. "I am sure by his face that he is not lying. It is a shame to have sent a lad like this on such an errand. However, I will send a strong letter with him in the morning to the commandant at Boshof, and assure him that there is no question whatever that this young officer's story is true, and that he is entitled to be treated as a prisoner of war. We have not gone into this fight in order to kill as many Englishmen as possible, but because we want to help our friends of the Transvaal to keep their independence; and I for one hope that there will be no more bloodshed than necessary. Young fellows like this simply do what they are ordered, just as we do.
"Of course we both do our best when we are fighting. Certainly we have no ground for animosity against England; she has always kept her engagements with us, and we have been just as independent as if there were no one in South Africa but ourselves. We have always been good friends with the English who live among us. Once it comes to killing spies they could kill a hundred of our men to every one we could kill. We know everything that passes in Natal or Cape Colony from our friends there, and it is only natural that they should want to know what is passing among us. If we shoot a man on the ground that he is a spy, they may shoot hundreds of Dutch, who are sending us news from among them. We have not heard of their shooting one; and I say if we find an Englishman doing what so many of our men are doing let us stop his work by imprisoning[Pg 174] him until the war is over. If the Transvaalers like to act differently we cannot help it. They hate the English. Why, I don't know, for they have all got rich at their expense. Still, they do hate them.
"Before this began I was as good friends with my English neighbours as I was with my own people, and I see no reason for any change. They are not fighting us; it is we who are fighting them. I don't say that Steyn was wrong in joining our kinsmen across the Vaal; that is his business and that of the men we elected. Anyhow, we are bound by them; we and the Rooineks have got to shoot each other till one of us gives in. I am sure we shall all do our best to win. We have shown them that we can fight, and they have shown us that they can fight; but when it comes to shooting in cold blood I will have nothing to do with it. In the first place, because I call it murder; and in the second, because where the English have got one man sending them information from our side, we have got a thousand doing the same from theirs. We should be fools indeed if we were to set an example and take one life, for our action might entail the shooting of all our friends in the colonies."
"There is a good deal in what you say, mynheer," one of the others agreed, "and I am sure you are right. For my part, when I see our shell bursting in there, I often say to myself, 'It is the women and children that are suffering from this.' Let us fire at their forts—though I don't see that that does much good—but leave the peaceful people alone; they won't give in because a few hundred women are killed. It does not seem as if we should take the town by force. At any rate, we have made no attempt to do so at present, and are not likely to. We shall starve them into surrender, and might just as well leave them alone till they have eaten their last crust. For my part, I think we ought to have made a rush and finished the business directly we got here. We should have lost a good many men, but that would have been the end of it. The end will come just the same, but we shall[Pg 175] have killed many women and children and some soldiers, and we shall have lost in the long run as many as we should have done if we had attacked the place before they had time to build their forts and prepare for us."
"I don't see the use of keeping up this fire myself, Isaak," the field cornet said; "but again, that is not my business, my orders are to hold this kopje, and I mean to do so. My heart aches whenever I see a shell burst in the middle of the town, but our commandant has got to account for that, not I. It is time now for the men on the hill to be relieved, and let the next two to go on guard duty get their rifles, and keep watch over this lad. I have no fear of his trying to escape; but you say he had another with him, for all that we know there may have been three or four, and they may try to crawl in and get him off."
The idea that Peter might attempt this had already occurred to Yorke, and he sincerely hoped that the Kaffir would not do so. One of the men brought an armful of straw and put it down for him between two rocks. Here he lay down. The two men told off sat themselves on the ground in front of him after lighting their pipes, and in a short time all was quiet. Yorke soon went off to sleep. In the middle of the night he was startled by one of his guards leaping to his feet and shouting "Who's there?"
"What is it, Jans?" the other said.
"I heard the rattle of a stone over there on the right;" and he again challenged.
No answer came.
"It was only a hare," the other grumbled. "Don't fire, Jans, whatever you do. We shall be rousing everybody, and a nice temper they would be in with you for disturbing them."
"I don't believe it was a hare," the other said. "It sounded like a rock that had shifted its place when someone trod on it. It was too big a stone to move with the weight of a hare. Well, if I hear anything else I will send a bullet[Pg 176] in that direction, whether it wakes the camp or not. You heard what the field cornet said. Someone may be trying to get in to help this lad to escape."
Yorke lay awake for some time, and then, as everything remained quiet, he went off to sleep again. In the morning he breakfasted with the field cornet, and had a bowl of cocoa and milk, with bread broken into it.
"Now," the latter said when he had finished, "I must send you on to Boshof. If I could have my own way, lad, I would send you back into the town, and you could tell them there that we are keeping a sharp look-out, and that it is of no use any one trying to get through. But I can't do that; I must send you off to Boshof. Four of my men have to go there to buy provisions, and they will look after you. I have written a letter to the commandant, and hope that he will treat you well. They won't be starting until this afternoon, as they will sleep there and come back in the morning. Of course they will ride, and you can have one of my ponies. Mind," he went on with a smile, "it will be the slowest of the lot I have, for your promise not to escape expired this morning. The four men will all be on better ponies than yours, so it will be of no use your trying to get off."
"I sha'n't try," Yorke laughed; "even if they could not overtake me, they could shoot my pony. I don't want to be made a target for four of your rifles. My chance has not arrived yet. When it does, I shall take it."
At three o'clock the party started, the field cornet shaking hands warmly with Yorke, and saying as he mounted: "I am sorry we caught you, lad. You could have done us no harm if you had got round to your people at the Modder. Though, perhaps, you are lucky in not being able to get farther, for you might fall into the hands of the Transvaalers, and, although they are our friends, I must acknowledge that they are a pretty rough lot."
"I am very much obliged to you for your kindness, for[Pg 177] you have treated me as well as our men would have treated you if you had fallen into their hands."
A minute later he was riding along the road with two of the Boers on each side of him. The distance was some five-and-twenty miles, and, sometimes walking, sometimes cantering, they reached the town between six and seven. Yorke had chatted cheerfully to one of his guards, who spoke English, feeling apparently but little anxiety as to his position.
"Where do you suppose they will send me?" he asked.
"The orders are to send all prisoners to Pretoria; but most likely, in the first place, they will send you to Bloemfontein, and from there you can be taken up by rail. All the prisoners taken in Natal are sent up that way—not, of course, through Bloemfontein, but by the line through Standerton. I don't suppose you will be there very long, for, of course, as soon as we have driven all your soldiers out of the country, we shall send the prisoners after them."
"Don't count your chickens before they are hatched," Yorke laughed. "The war has been going on two months, and you have not done much towards it yet."
"No," one of the guard admitted, "but we have killed thousands and thousands of your troops in Natal, and we shall finish with those on the Modder directly they advance again. All our people in Cape Colony are only waiting for orders, when they will rise to a man. We are expecting every day to hear that Ladysmith has fallen. Then Joubert will drive your people to take to their ships at Durban. We shall leave enough men here to starve your garrison, and shall then march to Cape Town with the Transvaalers. We don't expect any fighting on the way, because our people will have risen and captured the place long before we arrive there."
"It all sounds easy enough, doesn't it? But at present you see, you have not taken Ladysmith; you have not defeated Buller's army; you have not starved Kimberley; you have[Pg 178] not even taken Mafeking; and the Dutch in Cape Colony have not risen. When all these things have happened, you may find it clear sailing. But you must remember that, although you were all prepared for war, Britain was not. At present we have not more than fifty thousand men here, and you have found it difficult to deal with them. She could send, and will send, if necessary, five hundred thousand more."
"That would be a big lot," the Boer said doubtfully; "but with the Dutch in Cape Colony we should not be afraid of them."
"Well, you have seen that they can fight, anyhow," Yorke said. "You have the advantage in all being mounted, and in the nature of the country; that is all in your favour while we are attacking you, but it would be in our favour were you attacking us. Besides, I don't see what you men of the Free State have to do with it. If we were driven out, and you had a republic, Kruger would be president, and the Transvaal the master. You were a great deal better off as you were. You know, everyone knows, how hard their government is. Kruger and his people would keep all the riches for themselves. Do you think that you would get a higher price for your cattle, and would be in any way better off for the change?
"I think that you would not; there would be monopolies of everything, as in the Transvaal. You would have to pay twice as much for the goods you wanted to buy as you do now. Perhaps you do not know the story of the monkey who took a cat and made it pull the chestnuts out of the fire for him. Well, I think that if you drive us out of South Africa, you will find that the Transvaal would be the monkey, and the Free State the cat. If we win, which is possible, unlikely as it seems to you, you will certainly lose your independence, for, without a shadow of cause of complaint, you have wantonly taken up arms against us. You will have lost a great number of lives, and be worse off than[Pg 179] you were at the beginning, though nothing like so badly off as if you had been under Kruger. You know very well that under our rule the Dutch in Cape Colony have nothing to complain of. The government are Dutch, the Dutch have as free a voice as the English in electing their assembly and making their own laws; and we may be sure that were the Free State annexed, you would, after a time, be as free as are the Dutch in our colony."
"It is a bad business," one of the men said. "I wish Steyn and Reitz had been anywhere before they dragged us into it. However, now we are in it, we have got to go through with it, but I can tell you a good many of us would not have come out on commando but that we had to choose between doing so and being shot. Well, I hope that it will soon be over one way or other, and that I can get back to my farm."
"Who is commandant at Boshof? Is he a Transvaaler or a Free Stater?"
"One of our people. He is a good man, and is a brother-in-law of our field cornet. Most of us are Free State men about here. Many of those round Kimberley, and two-thirds of those at Spytfontein, are Transvaalers, but the main part of their force is in Natal."
Then the subject of the conversation was changed. The Boers asked many questions about Britain, showing astounding ignorance of its distance from the Cape, and the population.
"But Russia, Germany and France are all going to invade Britain," the Boer said, "and I hear that they are going to divide it between them; so what you say about so many troops coming over here is all nonsense."
Yorke laughed. "There is no more chance of those three countries combining against us than there is of their flying; but if they did, we should not be afraid of them."
"Why, I hear that they have all got very much bigger armies than you have."
[Pg 180]
"That is true enough; but our navy is larger than all theirs put together, and they would have to thrash that before they could do anything."
"Why couldn't they march their armies into England and leave your fleet alone?"
"Because Britain is an island, and there are more than twenty miles between it and the nearest point of France; so that as long as our fleet is master of the sea, they can do nothing. Even if they did beat our fleet, they would have to get ships to cross in. It requires a tremendous number of ships to carry a big army with horses, artillery, and stores. All the ships of France collected at one spot could not carry an army across capable of beating ours. Russia has practically no ships at all, so her troops could do nothing; and at the worst, although Germany could send more men over than France, there is no need to fear her, for she would never join France and Russia against us. She is not good friends with France, and not very good friends with Russia; and if Britain were conquered, France and Russia would next turn their attention to her. Russia and France might join against us. Russia could do us no harm in Europe, and could not aid France in any way except by attacking us in India. So practically, France is the only power that could, if she wanted to, help you. And as we could smash her fleet up in a month after war began, she would have nothing to gain and everything to lose by siding with you. At present, however, she has not the slightest idea of doing anything of the sort. It is nothing to her whether the Transvaal is independent or not. She has large interests in the gold-mines, and would lose a great deal of money if the Boers were successful."
"We have Frenchmen fighting for us, and Germans."
"No doubt you have; but in every country there are a certain number of people ready to fight anywhere, if they are paid for what they do. The sort of men who are fighting for you, would rob your farms just as readily as they[Pg 181] are robbing the farms of British settlers; they are the scum of France and Germany, and will be a source of more trouble than advantage to you. Don't build your hopes on foreign assistance, you have yourselves to depend upon and yourselves only. As long as Kruger can lay his hand on all the gold from the mines, he can buy men and guns from Europe; but that won't last, for most of the miners have gone, and once we take Johannesburg there is an end to that."
"You will never do that."
"That is for the future to show," Yorke said. "You thought that we should never cross the Modder, but we have done it. You thought that you were going to march to Durban a fortnight after the war began, but you have not done it. You thought that you were going to take Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in a week, but you have done none of these things yet. So you see the unexpected happens sometimes; and my opinion, though, I may be wrong, is that in three months we shall be at Johannesburg. But we have an old saying in England, 'May difference of opinion, never alter friendship,' and there is no reason why we should not each enjoy our own opinion without quarrelling about it. You and the British have always been good friends and have got on comfortably, and there is no reason why you should not do so again, when these troubles are over."
On arriving at Boshof, they found that the commandant had ridden over to his farm, five-and-twenty miles away, and would not be back until eight or nine o'clock. The place was about the usual size of country towns in the Free State. It contained a church, a town-hall, a school, and perhaps two hundred houses. The inhabitants speedily gathered as the party rode in, eagerly asking for news as to the progress of the siege. Some of the men looked sullenly and threateningly at Yorke, but for the most part little animosity was evinced, many of the women even looked with pity towards[Pg 182] him. Among the population the war was regarded as practically over, for they had been told that Buller's army had been annihilated and that tremendous losses had been inflicted upon Methuen, with only about half a dozen casualties among their own men, and had heard that the capture of Britain herself by Russia, if not already accomplished, was but a matter of days. They were a little puzzled why Kimberley had not yet fallen, but were confident that the final attack upon it was only deferred until Methuen's army was annihilated.
Here was a specimen of the men with whom their own big and brawny relatives had to fight—a mere lad, without a hair on his face, who ought to be at home with his mother. No wonder the Boers had gained such magnificent victories. It was nothing short of madness that such soldiers should be sent to fight against the invincible champions of the country. It was not their fault, poor fellows, for had not authentic reports reached the town showing how the British soldiers had had to be ironed and intoxicated before they could be got on board a ship, and how many had cried like children at being compelled to fight so far away from home. Therefore, when Yorke was lodged in the lock-up of the town, one woman brought a bowl of milk to the barred window, another some fruit, and a third a plate of meat and some bread, for they believed that, having come from Kimberley, he must be in a state of starvation, while many said a word or two of pity and consolation. Although he pretended not to understand their words, Yorke was touched and at the same time amused by their comments.
"Poor young fellow," one said, "I don't suppose he is much younger than my Paul, though he is not half his size; they must be very hard up for soldiers when they take a lad like this."
"The men who brought him in said that he was an officer," one of them said.
"An officer!" the other repeated in surprise, "no won[Pg 183]der we beat them so easily, when they have boys like that as officers. Why, all our field cornets and officers are big men and the wisest in their districts; what chance could such a lad have against them? And if this is an officer, what must the soldiers be like?"
Several times the two men on guard outside the door told the women to go away, but they soon returned.
"I wonder what has become of Peter," Yorke thought to himself. "I expect he was on the look-out somewhere among the rocks this morning, and waited there till he saw me ride by. He would know that he could do nothing against four mounted men. I hope that by this time he is well on his way towards the Modder. As they say the landdrost here is a good fellow, and a brother-in-law of my friend of last night, I don't think there is any chance of harsh treatment; and by the time I have gone another stage all questions about my being a spy will have died out, and it will be supposed that I was captured in a sortie or something of that sort."
At nine o'clock the key grated in the lock, and, the door opening, the two Boers on guard told him to follow them. He was conducted to a small room, where the landdrost and two or three of his friends were seated.
"So you brought this man here prisoner; you caught him trying to get out of Kimberley? I hear you have a letter for me?"
"Yes, mynheer, here it is!"
He read it through and then passed it to his companions.
"A young chap trying to carry a despatch," he said, "walked right into the arms of Odental's men. He had no time to make resistance—not that it would have done him any good. There is evidently nothing to do but to send him to Pretoria."
"You feel sure that he is not a spy, landdrost?"
"As if people would send out a lad like that as a spy! He is evidently just fresh from England. What could he want to spy about? The people in Kimberley can see for them[Pg 184]selves where our forts are; if they wanted to send out a spy they would have chosen somebody who could speak Dutch. Besides, he has got his uniform on, the first Dutchman he met would have made him prisoner. You need not wait any longer," he went on to the men who had brought Yorke in, "I will give you a letter in the morning to my brother. Now, sit down, young fellow, and tell us who you are, and how you came to undertake this business. How long have you been out from England?"
"Seven or eight months."
"I suppose you were with your regiment at Cape Town?"
"I joined it there," Yorke said, "but I did not come up the country with it. I am a good runner and a fair rider, so I volunteered to come up to Kimberley. As the war seemed likely to last some time, and I wanted to join my regiment, I got leave from the commandant there to make off, and, as Field Cornet Odental no doubt told you, he entrusted me with a despatch; this I gave to the field cornet, as I knew that I should be searched; besides, it was necessary to show that I was going out on military business, and not as a spy. But it contained only a number of figures, which may have referred to certain words in a book, or been a military cipher, that no one but the writer could understand."
"They would be sure to write in cipher," the landdrost said; "it would not have been safe to send a message that we could read, if we caught you."
The landdrost had been warm when he returned from his ride and had thrown up the window. Suddenly a rifle was thrust in, and a voice in Dutch called out, "Hold up your arms or we shoot!"
The men, astounded at his sudden threat, did as they were ordered.
"Gentlemen," Yorke said quietly, "I suppose that some of my friends have heard of my capture, and that a party[Pg 185] has got through. I am heartily obliged to you for your kindness, landdrost, and I only leave you because the journey back from here is a good deal shorter than it would be from Pretoria. I will take your guns for the present, but you will find four of them outside after I have gone; the other I may want on the journey. Good-evening!" And taking the five guns from the corner in which they were placed, he carried them out, shut the door, and turned the key. He paused a moment outside, extracted the cartridges from four of them, removed the bolts and put them in his pocket; the other, and a bandolier, he slung over his shoulder.
"Thank you, men," he said in a loud voice. "Now, then, I will shut the window down. One man had better stand on each side of it, and if anyone attempts to open it or come out, put a bullet in his head."
He then closed the window. He did this because, had Peter stepped forward to do it, the Boers would have seen that he was a Kaffir. As soon as he had done it he said, "Thank you, Peter. Now, which way?"
"Round the corner of the next house, baas. Now, you follow me. I know all the streets. No fear of my tumbling over wire;" and he laughed. They started at full speed, took several turnings, and in three minutes were outside the town. Before they got there, however, they heard a loud shouting.
"They have gone to a back window, or perhaps to one upstairs. They would be sure to think of that when they got over the shock. Are we going right for the Modder?"
"Yes, baas, this is the way. But the sky is very dark. There is going to be a storm, I think. I am afraid we shall not be able to go very straight."
"That does not matter, Peter. I have still got my compass and matches. I had them in my tobacco-pouch. That and a handkerchief are the only things they left me. You managed that splendidly, Peter. You did well not to show[Pg 186] yourself in the light. They would have been so furious to think that they have been held up by a native, that even your rifle would not have kept them quiet."
"I could have shot the five one after the other, baas."
"You might have done so, Peter, but the sound of firing would have brought the whole town out at once. Besides, I should have been very sorry, for the landdrost was a very civil old fellow, and I should have been grieved if harm had come to him. I don't know that there is any fear of pursuit," he said, after they had run for more than an hour.
"No fear at all, baas. The Boers do not like riding about at night, especially when there is a storm coming on. Besides, they know very well that they have no chance of catching you in the dark. To-morrow morning they will send out in all directions. We must get away as far as we can."
In a quarter of an hour the storm burst upon them, the rain coming down in torrents, the wind blowing fiercely. They had now fallen into a jog-trot, and as Yorke had looked at his compass when the first drop fell, they were able to keep on without delay, for they could steer their course by the direction of the wind and driving rain. Half an hour, and the storm ceased as suddenly as it had begun. The Kaffir had been running a yard or two ahead of Yorke, for the latter could see nothing, while the former was able to make out any bush in their way. From the view he had obtained of the country when he came into the town the lad knew that there were no kopjes for a long way round it, and that the only danger was of falling into a spruit.
When the sky cleared and the stars shone out there was no longer any fear of accident, and sometimes walking, and sometimes trotting, they held on their course until morning broke. They had travelled, they calculated, nearly thirty miles. The last four or five had been over comparatively broken ground, being a continuation of the hills[Pg 187] through which they had passed on their way to Kimberley. They hid up on the side of a rocky kopje, and when it was light made out the road from Boshof to Jacobsdal about a mile to their right.
"There is a little town in the distance," Yorke said looking south. "That must be Wesselton. I don't think that is more than eight miles or so from the river. What we have got to do is to get round that place, keep a bit to the right of the road till we are close to the river, and then strike due west. Of course the most dangerous point is where we cross the road from Jacobsdal to Kimberley. Once past that we are safe, except that they may have scouts out towards our camp, to give them notice of any move that might be made against Jacobsdal. They say that a strong force is there, who intend, of course, to try and cut the railway in our rear when Lord Methuen moves forward. Now, the best thing we can do is to take a few hours' sleep."
In a few minutes he was sound asleep. The Kaffir slept lightly, and every half-hour or so lifted his head and looked out over the road towards Boshof. Yorke awoke about midday. Peter was at that moment looking out.
"Do you see anything on the road, Peter?" Yorke asked.
"No one now, baas. Three hours after you went to sleep two Boers rode past going fast. I expect they were sent from Boshof to say that you had got away. Three hours after that more than twenty men came the other way. When they got to the plain they separated, and rode about searching the country as they went."
"Looking for us, no doubt," Yorke said. "Well, they won't find us, but it shows the alarm has spread. We shall have to be very careful now, Peter. Where is that food you bought at Boshof? I did not feel hungry last night, but my appetite has come back again this morning. If we go to that boulder fifty yards to the right we shall be in the shade."
"Better stay where we are, baas. The Boers are accus[Pg 188]tomed to hunt, and have got very good eyes, almost as good as ours. They might see us."
"But you said that there were none of them along the road now."
"That is so, baas, but there may be some of them on the hills hiding among the rocks. They would feel sure that we should come this way, and no doubt while some went out on the plain, some climbed up there in hopes of seeing us move."
"Quite right, Peter; it is no use throwing away a chance. We will stop where we are and put up with the sun."
"We have no meat, baas; I knew very well there would be no chance of cooking it. I have got a bag of biscuit and a bottle of whisky."
"Have you got your water-bottle?"
"Not left him behind, baas."
"Well, then, I will have some water, and when I have drunk half of it you can pour a little whisky in the rest for yourself."
"Whisky bad thing, baas, but very nice."
"It may be nice in small quantities for those who like it. I don't like it. I never touch it if I can help it. It is the ruin of half your people, and you know it is against the law to give it to you."
"Against the law, baas but we can always find plenty of men ready to sell it for good money."
"They are bad men, Peter. The harm they do is very great. That is why so many of your people are in rags, though they can earn pay when they are willing to work. They will only labour for three or four days, and then spend pretty well all they have earned on spirits, and be drunk the next three."
"That is true, baas. Peter do that very often. Big fool, Peter! Often tells himself so when he gets sober. But when he gets money he smells spirit, then he makes fool of himself again."
[Pg 189]
"Well, you had better make up your mind to give it up altogether, Peter. You are getting good pay now, and ought to have a lot of money saved by the end of the war—enough to go back to your own people and build a kraal, and buy cattle, and exchange some of them for a wife."
"That true, baas. Peter will try not to be big fool again."
"Well, then, you had better begin to try at once, and drink your water without mixing whisky with it."
Peter's face fell, and he heaved a long sigh.
"Now, just suppose, Peter, that at Boshof you had opened that bottle of whisky. I have no doubt that if you had begun it you would have drunk almost all of it, and by the time you got sober you would have found me a long way towards Pretoria."
"That is just what I said to myself," Peter said with a laugh. "I take that bottle out of my pocket four or five times and look at him. But each time I took it out I said to myself, 'Peter, if you take out that cork you know what it will be. You will get drunk, and the Boers will carry your baas away.'"
"Well, Peter, you fought the battle and mastered yourself, and there is no reason why you should not do it again. It is better to be a free man than a slave."
"How slave, master?" Peter asked puzzled.
"Every man is a slave who allows himself to be mastered by drink. It is of no use to say, 'I will only have a drop.' It is ten times more difficult to stop then than it is at first. Now, Peter, you have done me a great service—a very great service, but I shall have done you quite as good a one if I can persuade you to give up drink altogether. Then when I part from you, I shall be always able to think of you as doing well among your own people, instead of working in rags somewhere for a day's pay."
"Peter will try, master; he will try hard. Every time he smells gin, he will say to himself, 'Baas Yorke tell me, that ruin me if I touch it; and him say true, I will not touch it.'"
"That is right, Peter."
"Shall I smash the bottle now, baas?"
"Smash it when we get into camp. It is good for medicine, but very bad as drink. We may have to sleep near the river, and perhaps in wet clothes. Besides, it is better for you to carry it with you without touching it. You see that you have begun to get the better of it. I shall not say no to you if you ask me for some, but it will please me very much if you don't. Now, let us eat our biscuit."
When they had finished their simple meal, Yorke said: "I have had my sleep out, and it is evident that you cannot have slept much, therefore you may as well get a good sleep before we start. I will keep watch."
Late in the afternoon. Yorke saw the Boers straggling back. They had no doubt come to the conclusion that he and those with him were not hiding out on the plain.
"They will probably place extra men on the watch during the night," thought Yorke, "to make sure that we do not pass through Wesselton. We had better keep to the left of that place, because they will think it more likely that we should turn off to the right, as that would be our natural course in making for the Modder. However, I cannot think that they will take any great trouble to look out for us, except on the road through these hills, for they cannot be sure that from Boshof we did not work round the other side of Kimberley, and try to return to the town from the west."